


So that's what being plunged in at the deep end feels like

by Captain_Mercurian



Series: So what do I do with this? [7]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: 17 near-panic attacks or more are about to happen, Credence gets to see the suitcase, Dougal is invisible, M/M, Newt has gotten himself into some shit and Credence doesn't know what to do, and 3 near-death scenarios, and feeds the Niffler, and so is Jacob, poor Credence is way over his head
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 06:07:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9165430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Mercurian/pseuds/Captain_Mercurian
Summary: “You're probably invisible right now,” he said and pressed his lips to a thin line. “T-the book says you turn invisible when you f-feel threatened.”Nothing happened and Credence sighed, lowering his gaze. “I am a little jealous,” he whispered and looked at this bare feet that were covered in grime and mud, his pajama pants rolled up to his knees. “I wish I could turn invisible too whenever I am scared. Then again, I'd probably be invisible all the time.”





	

Mother had always told him that witches lived in forests. It was a common idea, really, and so Credence wasn't surprised that Mr. Scamander, being a witcher, did exactly that.

What mother hadn't told him, though, was that said forest would be located inside a _suitcase_.

He didn't know how many times he had climbed and descended the weird stairs that lead to the outside world since he lost count after the sixth time but he still couldn't quite believe it yet. Mr. Scamander was waiting very patiently for him to get over the fact that they were indeed standing inside a _suitcase_ of all things and went on to make them a cup of tea. Credence even lifted it of the ground once, just to see if there was a hole in the floor of the hotel room they were in, and then noticed that the suitcase's gravity didn't change a bit no matter the angle with which it was held. It was incredibly fascinating to say the least and once he descended the stairs one last time, he nodded at Mr. Scamander who immediately went to lock the suitcase from within.

A part of him still didn't believe it.

“You can charm pretty much anything like that, as long as there is some room in it and something to close the thing off,” he explained, placing a cup of tea in Credence's hands that were still trembling from wonder and excitement over _the forest in a suitcase_ \- “Er, well, not _you_ as in _you_ , that is. Wizards can. Muggles are... muggles. They get on fine without stuff like that.”

Credence looked up, confused at the weird terms. “Wizards?” he repeated and blinked. “ _Muggles_?”  
Mr. Scamander chuckled a bit and sipped from his own tea, leaning against a wooden desk on top of which many weird jars and flasks were piled on. “Ah, yes, you were calling me 'witcher'. It's true that females are called _witches_ but the men are _wizards_ , you see?” he smiled at him and sipped from his tea and Credence quickly nodded, eyes still wide in wonder for the suitcase. “Muggles are people like you. Normal people. Without the whole magic-thing going on there.”

He did an awkward flick with his hand, mimicking holding a wand and Credence huffed a bit, a little amused. Then it hit him like a train wreck – This was his moment. The perfect moment to tell Mr. Scamander that he was a wit- _wizard_ himself. He knew then and there that if he didn't tell him now, it would get gradually harder and harder to do it later.

“M-Mr. Scamander,” he timidly started, the teacup in his hand positively shaking. “I- I have to tell you s-”

There was a loud knock echoing through the suitcase.

Both of them froze at the sound and their eyes locked – Credence looked at him questioningly, Mr. Scamander almost... warily, a little disappointed even. Another knock followed and Mr. Scamander closed his eyes for a moment, setting the tea cup aside. “I should probably go and check who that is,” he said a tad too cheerful and stared at Credence as if he expected him to interject. He didn't though and simply stepped away from the stairs to make room, unsure as to what was happening. Then, Mr. Scamander threw him a smile, reached into his trousers and set a little book on his desk.  
“I'll be back in a jiffy,” he told him and climbed the stairs. Credence watched him disappear until the suitcase was closed with a thud and he then sat at the wooden ground, waiting for him to return.

Muffled voices could be heard, some harsh and cold whereas Mr. Scamander's remained calm and Credence had half a mind to climb the stairs, so he could hear them better but didn't want to intrude anyone's privacy. Mother hated him sniffing around and he didn't want to anger the wizard and give him a reason to take back his promise to let him stay.

Then there was a very weird sound, loud, like air getting sucked in... and then silence.

Fear clutched at his heart like cold hands and he slowly stood up, his legs trembling and his breath quickening. “Mr. Scamander?” he squeaked timidly, climbing the stairs and softly opening the case just a smidge...

The hotel room was empty.

 

 

Credence was panicking. Hours had passed since Mr. Scamander left his suitcase and there was still no sign of him returning whatsoever. He barely got the concept of the whole suitcase thing and now he was left sitting in an enchanted forest with no idea what to do or where to go. A part of him wanted him to wander around a bit, so he could stop pacing and calm his nerves a bit, but the rest of him was too afraid of what he could encounter. This was a wizard's home – Who knew what kind of monsters might hide in here? He remembered the Niffler who seemed peaceful enough, but _Humbert_ on the other hand – What did Mr. Scamander say? Harmless if not provoked? What did he mean by 'provoked'?

He went to take a look at the hotel room for the 18th time in the past 10 minutes. Mr. Scamander had shoved the suitcase underneath the bed, as if he had wanted to hide it from someone, but aside from that nothing seemed to be any different than before when Credence had still been trying to understand this whole thing.

Mr. Scamander couldn't possibly leave him here, completely alone, in an enchanted forest he knew nothing about, could he? Who were these people? Did they force him to go with them? Has he been _kidnapped_? Not that he thought there actually was a time and place for kidnappings but why _now_ of all times? They could have at least waited long enough for Mr. Scamander to explain some facts about the magical world to him – Maybe, it would have entailed some kind of magical Mafia that was prone to kidnap people out of their hotel rooms, so Credence had at least _some_ clue where to look for the man.

Where they torturing him? Did they come to _kill_ him? _Was he already dead_?

The thought alone made Credence's breath hitch and it was hard not to succumb to the desperation, _the darkness_ , tugging inside him. He didn't know what that kind of power would do to the suitcase and he didn't want to destroy anything in there, let alone harm the Niffler or Humbert, no matter how scary that purple snake had been.

Speaking of which, where were they? What would happen to them if Mr. Scamander didn't return? He didn't know whether the forest automatically provided them with everything they needed or the wizard took care of them by hand. Could they starve in here?

His breath quickened again and he had to slap himself in order to get himself to return to the present and not give in to a panic attack and therefore risk the darkness taking control over him. A cool head was needed, clear thoughts and a plan of action. First of all, he needed to find out if the creatures were okay and if they were more of them living in here. Secondly, he needed to find out what happened to Mr. Scamander and save him if he needed saving. After all, the man had been willing to save _him_ and it was only right for him to return the favour.

If there were more personal, more _intimate_ , reasons for him to want Mr. Scamander save, he didn't want to ponder about it.

Deciding that it wouldn't do for him to spend the rest of eternity pacing on the same spot, he was just about to make his way into the forest when something caught his eye. Before the wizard left the suitcase he put a book on his desk. And he had made sure that he saw it if their rare eye contact had been any indication at all. Carefully, Credence approached the little, worn-out looking book, picked it up and opened it.

 

_Dear stranger,_

_if I gave you this book or placed it somewhere for you – or somebody else – to be found, it means that I am either hindered, in great danger or dead. No matter if my absence is temporary or permanent, this book will give you instructions on what to do with my creatures in either case._

_If I gave it to you, it means I have great trust in you. If I didn't, I still hope that you will do your best to make sure that my instructions are followed. In case, you yourself aren't in a position to care for my creatures, I would ask you to send this suitcase, along with this book, to Albus Dumbledore. His address is noted at the back of this page._

_I beg you to make sure that my creatures are safe and cared for._

_Best regards,_

_Newton Scamander._

 

Credence's face paled with every word he read and he found himself, again, at the verge of a panic attack. Turning the pages with shaking hands, he found drawings of the oddest of animals he had ever seen in his life, together with instructions on how to approach them or bath them and recipes for their feed-

Breathing in as deeply and slowly as he could manage in his state, Credence tried to remain calm and level-headed. Mr. Scamander had given him this book.

“It means he has _great trust_ in me,” he whispered weakly and felt his eyes start to burn as his vision turned blurry from tears. He permitted himself a single sob before rubbing harshly at his eyes and turning his attention towards the book. Neither he nor the creatures, let alone Mr. Scamander, had time for any emotional breakdowns on his part.

Early on, he found a map tucked between page 4 and 5 that showed him where to find which creatures and Credence immediately made his way over to the red dot named: _Niffler_ ' _s_ _den_.

After all, it was probably best to start with something that was at least a little familiar already.  
He just hoped none of the beasts would attack him.

 

The Niffler recognized him. At least Credence thought it did. When he approached it, it looked at him, obviously having awoken in the meantime. For a moment, he was worried that it might flee again, but the nearer he got, the more it leaned towards him, almost trustingly. Having reached his destination, he threw a quick look into the book.

“Feeding times: 8 o'clock (200g of pogshay), 14 o'clock (350g of moonclay), 20 o'clock (200g of Gingler's gings),” he read, blinking in confusion and looking at the Niffler as though the creature could explain to him what he was supposed to do. It simply resumed staring at him when he remembered a very important detail. “I don't even know what time it is, actually.”

At that, the Niffler suddenly disappeared in its glittery cave full of gold and silver, Credence hadn't even noticed until then, and then suddenly reappeared with a very familiar pocket watch in hand.

“T-that's my watch!” he stuttered and took it, looking at it confusedly. “When did you steal it again?”

The Niffler didn't answer.

Huffing, even though he wasn't really mad, he took a look at the time. “It's half past two,” he murmured and bit his lip.”You should have eaten half an hour ago.” Taking a look at the book again, he frowned. “350g of moonclay.”

A long pause.

“If I only knew what that is.”

 

 

About seventeen near-panic attacks later, as well as three near-death experiences in which very scary creatures were very close to attacking him, (One of them had been a _Kappa_ – Credence had to scratch his name into a cucumber and throw it at the beast, to make sure it didn't kill him at sight.) he finally had taken care of every single creature mentioned in the book as well as the map.

Except one.

Apparently, it's name was Dougal and it was a Demiguise which was supposed to be some sort of blue monkey that could turn invisible at will. So far, so good, but how was he supposed to find an invisible monkey?

“D-dougal?” he called into the forest, clutching the book against his chest and carrying a basket of strange red plants with him that supposedly were Dougal's favorite thing to eat. “I-I know, I am a little late with... with feeding you, so... ehrm...” He stopped when he reached the spot marked in the map but didn't find any creature. “You're probably invisible right now,” he said and pressed his lips to a thin line. “T-the book says you turn invisible when you f-feel threatened. I-I understand, really. You d-don't know me and M-M-Mr. Scamander isn't here to i-introduce us.”

Nothing happened and Credence sighed, lowering his gaze. “I am a little jealous,” he whispered and looked at this bare feet that were covered in grime and mud, his pajama pants rolled up to his knees. “I wish I could turn invisible too whenever I am scared.” A weird gurgling noise escaped his throat – By now, he had realized that's what his chuckle sounded like – and he placed the basket on the ground. “Then again, I'd probably be invisible all the time. I'm... I'm always scared.”

It was true. Fear clung to him like a pest and he didn't know how to get rid of it. The few moments he had spent with Mr. Scamander had given him a taste of what it felt like not to be scared. Something about that weird wizard with the freckles and the kind eyes had made him feel incredibly safe, as if nothing could ever harm him in his proximity. Being here, in his suitcase, had given him hope – hope that it could be like that forever. That, maybe, he never had to be afraid again in his life. And now he was gone.

Mr. Scamander was gone and Credence's fear was back.

Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and took a step backwards, away from the basket. “I'm just going to leave that here, so you can eat, okay?” he called, looking for some movement one last time. “I'll be back to retrieve the basket sometime later. You have plenty of time, I- I need to do something.”

He had to look for Mr. Scamander even if he didn't have the slightest idea where to start. When he turned around, he heard a rustle that made him pause for a second – Then, he just continued walking. The Demiguise would approach him if it wanted to be seen by him. Credence could respect that.

When he reached the hut, he wiped himself down with his pajama shirt, removing the grime from his feet. He could wash that later, but right now, he didn't have time for much more cleaning up. Slipping into his clothes and his shoes, he made his way back to the stairs leading up to the normal world, determined to find Mr. Scamander and save him from whatever mess he had gotten himself into.

When he opened the suitcase, however, he stared straight into the face of a chubby man with a moustache. For a moment nothing happened and then the suitcase was let go of, causing it to tumble to the ground as the man fainted.

Somehow, Credence doubted that was a good omen.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the late update, writing on two different stories is kinda hard haha.  
> I hope you enjoyed part 7 and I'll see you either at part 8 or at Chapter 3 of "The reddest flag ever raised" which is already in progress!


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